HDTV == HDTV

So I went to Brandsmart tonight and pulled the trigger on an LG 47" LCD HDTV. When compared to the Sharp Aquos 52" we were thinking about, it just had better "pop" on the blacks, no matter what the settings. Also figured that sitting 8-10' from the TV, the 47" would actually look better.

Took this thing home and plopped it right next to the 3 year old LCD Projection 50" Hitachi that I currently have. I was thinking that I'd get a big upgrade in black levels, sharpness, picture quality etc etc by going to a "new" LCD TV versus the LCD projection that I've had for a while now.

After hooking both of them up to the cable box and tinkering with some settings on both TV's (got the LG looking great with the recommended CNET settings and then set up the Hitachi to look like the LG), we realized that its the same damn picture. While there is a slight difference in the black levels, its definitely only slight and can be noticed when viewing dark scenes. Watching normal TV, or discovery HD as we were, its hardly damn noticable. Maybe with a Blu-Ray player we could see it, but on normal HDTV and then upscaled regular DVD, there is just no way to justify the purchase.

I guess in the end I saved myself some $$ as it looks like we're just going to keep this 50" Hitachi till it goes away, or until OLED's come down in price, cause it ain't worth it going to a 1080P LG LCD right now. Color me surprised.